Feds spend $120M on research for Enbridge, Greens say

CBC

Federal Green MP Elizabeth May is accusing the federal government of using tax dollars to support the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline.

May says her party has obtained documents showing $120 million in oil spill-related research is being carried out off the north coast, where Enbridge hopes to run oil tankers as part of its proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline project.

"The fact that the federal government is using our tax dollars to back stop Enbridge's failure is shocking,” May said on Wednesday.

May argued such research should be funded by Enbridge, and accused the government of secretly supporting the Northern Gateway Pipeline plan.

But in a statement released Wednesday, Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said the oil spill-related research was no secret, adding that the government already revealed those plans at a news conference last March in Vancouver.

The B.C. government has officially expressed its opposition to a proposal for the Northern Gateway pipeline project, saying it fails to address the province's environmental concerns.

"We cannot support the proposal as it stands," said B.C. Premier Christy Clark on Wednesday. "The thing about the Green Party and my party is this: we take a clear position and we stick with it."